


Keep the lights turned off

by Toca



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29440836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toca/pseuds/Toca
Summary: The stress of constant missions keeps on pilling on the young heroes' bodies and psyche. Due to that Ed is being plagued by nightmares, he thought were a part of the past. Seeking calm in the middle of the night he sees Bart who might be dealing with the same issues.\\\\“So what were you doing all alone in the dark?” The light teasing rolling easily off his tongue.He felt Bart lean more comfortably on the couch “Checking if Jaime’s theory was correct.” Ed moved his head away from the backrest and turned towards Bart, one eyebrow raised “Jaime’s theory?”The speedster just grinned at him “Yeah, he says places feel different during nighttime, everything is slightly off, like all of the furniture has been moved an inch.”
Relationships: Bart Allen/Eduardo Dorado Jr.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Keep the lights turned off

**Author's Note:**

> I finally had time to sit down and write... I took liberties with the floorplan of the Hub, hope that's okay.
> 
> "..." - dialogue  
> '...' - thoughts

**?????**

**????, ???**

The world around him was red and gold, faint chirping and clicking like noises hammered away at his ears. Yellow energy was glowing all over his body, blocking parts of his vision. He felt… incomplete like a piece was missing. He strained to see past the red and gold, concentrating was next to the impossible because of the noise. He was confused, he was here and he wasn’t. His mind and body felt split. Missing pieces of a jagged, torn out puzzle. He didn’t know anything else, other than he wanted to be whole again. Everything was simultaneous and yet separated – what he was, what he wanted, what was happening, all things he knew he would find out if he could become one again, so he tried and the gold light grew and the chirping intensified. 

The gleam had swallowed him whole, he saw incomplete, parts of - the place he was currently in, memories of random things he’d once known, everything and nothing at all, swirling around his brain. The confusion and desperation only grew. He felt searing pain course through him as anguish took a hold of his being. Screams and yells coming (and yet not) from his own form shook him, the annoying chirping was also getting louder, it felt like it was grating on his brain. The light around him grew brighter and brighter becoming almost white in colour, as he shook and felt wetness run down his face. He screamed and screamed and- 

**Hollywood**

**April 3, 3:17 PST**

Ed woke up, covered in sweat, his breath was hard and fast. He shot up, sitting up on the bed, the breathing becoming more and more erratic, his heart hammering quickly against his chest. Ed hastily ran his hands over his body, touching his neck, his face as if checking he was whole, his breathing slowly started to get less and less shallow, he closed his eyes and laid back on the bed. His forearm covered his eyes and he felt the wetness of tears on his skin. He rubbed his arm over his eyes, then moved it away, he looked up at the ceiling, everything was dark, for a second he felt panic creep up again as he did not recognise the ceiling and furniture surrounding him, but that was quickly overcome when the voice in his head reminded him that he was at the Hub. Ed sighed and slowly started to the get out of bed, grabbing his phone he checked the time, 3:17 am, his finger hovered over his dad’s number, but he quickly pushed that thought aside. 

He grabbed his discarded hoodie, that laid over a chair nearby, and pulled it over the t-shirt he was wearing, afterwards, he slipped on a pair of sweats and headed out of the stuffy room. The cold floor felt good against his bare feet. He grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and downed it, before teleporting to the dark roof. He decided to refrain from turning on the lights, leaving only the small, blue ones on. It was definitely way colder than he excepted, but the sharp sting felt good on his skin – grounding. As he leaned against the railing he looked down on all of the lights illuminating Hollywood. The city was almost quiet from up here. As he continued to look, his choice of not wearing any shoes was one he was starting to regret – he was shaking slightly, though he wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold or the dream. Suddenly he felt a presence behind him, still feeling the aftershocks of the nightmare he turned sharply. Pupils wide, skin damp and curls sticking to his forehead.

“Whoa – hermano, it’s only me!” Bart said while being illuminated by the fluorescent lights on the rooftop. He had his hands up in the air and a playful smile plastered on his face. 

Ed sighed and once again leaned his back against the railing, he looked up at the starless sky. “Whatcha doing up so late?” 

“Eh, ya know same old, same old.” An answer, which truly answered nothing. Bart slowly made his way over to the railing next to the Ed. He looked at him and grinned. The fluorescent lights were making his complexion even paler than usual, accentuating the bags under his eyes. 

Ed also smiled “Not looking too hot.”

“Please!” He leaned against Ed nudging him with his elbow “I’m a total smokeshow!... Although you should take a look in the mirror, amigo, you’re looking pretty moded yourself.” 

Ed hadn’t thought about that, hadn’t really concentrated on the fact that his eyes were probably puffy, his skin glistening and his hair an absolute mess and that he _still_ wasn’t wearing any shoes. “Wasn’t exactly planning on seeing anyone tonight.” He said. smirking, trying to play off the embarrassment he felt about looking in disarray in front of Bart. 

“Good point.” 

They stayed like that for a bit, basking in the silence and feeling of emptiness that only came with the night. It was comforting, Bart was comforting, even if he was just standing there. As time passed and the adrenaline from his dream was leaving his body, Ed started to really feel the cold.

“Dios mío! It’s freezing.” He wrapped his arms around himself, his thin hoodie not really doing anything to appease the cold. 

“Yeah, wanna head back in?” Bart was looking at the horizon, a distant glance in his eyes. His usual cheery attitude was not quite there. “Absolutely.” The other boy answered, then put his hand on Bart’s shoulder and teleported them to the living room of the Hub. 

They stood around silently, not really sure what to do now until something caught the speedster’s eye. “Dude! Are you really _not_ wearing any shoes?” Ed just blushed “As I said, I wasn’t really planning on _seeing_ anybody tonight.” He scrunched his face and crossed his arms. 

“Yeah, yeah, go take a shower or something, warm-up.” 

Ed sighed deeply and rolled his eyes, smiling. Bart always managed to put him at ease. “I think I’ll go do that now.” 

“Good idea… and uh good night?” Bart said probably fully realising that neither of them would be going back to sleep that night. Still, it was the thought that counted. 

Ed smiled gently “You too.” 

He teleported to his room, which had an en-suite shower. Just as he shed his clothing and turned the water up to hot, he realised he’d never asked what Bart was doing up in the middle of the night, then again Bart had shown him the same courtesy. Perhaps their reasons for being awake weren’t so different… 

**Hollywood**

**April 5, 07:35 PST**

The missions were starting to stretch far longer than anyone had excepted them to and the effects were obvious. The Outsiders, the Team and the League were starting to lose their patience. They were constantly learning of new meta-human trafficking rings, both on and off-planet, some of them real, some of them red herrings. Not only that, but missions were popping up left and right - criminals escaping all the time, apocaliptian, alien technology entering the market and making even petty criminals actual threats. It felt as if whatever was happening was a direct attack on the heroes, meant to wear them down. The stress was getting to everybody. Because of all of that it had been decided that for the time being the Outsiders will be living in the Hub with Superboy as their current adult supervisor. Which according to Beast Boy was totally unfair, because “Dude is _technically_ only 8 years old" and "We already have Jaime and Virgil!"

Ed yawned for what felt like the hundredth time that day, after his shower he had tried to sleep again, but all he managed were a few half-awake naps. 

“Hey, you doing okay?” Virgil asked through a mouthful of cereal. He himself wasn’t looking the best, the stress was clearly affecting him and yet he was still concerned about his friends.

Ed just smiled “Yeah, just couldn’t sleep that’s all.” 

Virgil rolled his eyes “The Center won’t collapse or burn down just because you’re not there for a couple of days, you control freak.” He teased while waving his spoon around, illustrating his point. 

Ed pushed the spoon that was being waved in front of his face away and smirked “Yeah, yeah.”

Virgil just shrugged and turned his attention to Cassie, Ed’s eyes wandered off to Kid Flash who was chatting with Jaime while leaning against the couch. He noticed his complexion which was a shade lighter than usual and the dark colour under his bright eyes. His appearance could be easily excused, because of the constant missions they had to endure, but that still worried Ed. Bart turned his head and looked at the Argentinian, he smiled and winked. Ed just rolled his eyes and smiled, raising an eyebrow at the display of confidence. Their nonverbal conversation was interrupted by the alarm blaring. Beast boy rushed into the room “We’ve got a new lead on the Kentucky mission! Everybody be ready in 5!” 

The Outsiders quickly ran off to gear up. 

**Hollywood**

**April 8, 3:54 PST**

Red. Red. Gold. Red. Gold. Gold. Gold. Chirping. Clicking. Gold. Help- 

Ed once again woke up, panicked in his own room, sweat dripping down his forehead. He took a few deep breaths while burying his head and hands between his knees. He looked down at the light orange sheets, but the colour was twisting and turning into red walls with curves, which reminded him of veins or tree branches. He shut his eyes tight and continued to breathe. Slowly, breath by breath he felt himself calm down. He pinched the space between his eyes in annoyance. The stress was getting to him. 

The dreams of his time with the Reach were nothing new to him, after he’d gotten away he used to get them almost every night, but with time he’d gotten better. They were few and far in between, until recently. Now he was plagued by them almost every night, they left him exhausted and feeling helpless. After waking up and the initial shock had disappeared, all that was left in Ed were feelings of annoyance and irritation. He sighed once again and got out of bed. He dressed up, this time _not forgetting_ his shoes and headed for the kitchen. 

‘Maybe, I’ll see Bart again tonight?’ The fleeting thought was quickly dismissed and he teleported away. 

He reached for the mug which was designated as his, on it was written: “It’s tough to be a god”. Ed turned on the pot and waited for the water to get hot. The red electronic clock on the oven caught his eye “4:26 am”. He tsked and sat up on the counter. His senses were still on high alert due to the nightmare, so he immediately felt the other presence in the room. Smiling, he opened the cabinet and took out the mug with a blue, cartoon hedgehog on it “Care to join me for a cup of tea, amigo?” Ed turned towards Bart who was leaning against the opposite counter between the bar stools. 

The speedster smiled brightly. Neither had turned on the lights, so they only had the shine of the city outside that came through the large windows. Even though they were so high up, the muted yellows, whites and blues from the city around bounced off the two boys. The pot signalled that it was ready. 

Ed got off the counter and slowly poured the water into the mugs, he reached for the box of teas “Lavender?” He asked looking Bart in the eyes, who just nodded yes. Ed put the baggies in the mugs and reached over for the honey “You’re unusually quiet.” He said while swirling the honey around a spoon. 

“Well.” Bart had moved next to Ed, his mug of tea in his hands as he prodded the baggie with a spoon “It’s an unusual night.” The teleporter just raised an eyebrow at that “That’s weirdly cryptic.” A small smile was playing on his lips. 

After the tea was done Ed put away the honey and blew on top of the liquid, steam flew around him, disappearing in a small cloud. 

“You know, I never understood how tea is supposed to calm you? Isn’t it all just leaf juice?” Bart said and proceeded to slurp obnoxiously. 

Ed just shrugged “Can _you_ even be calmed down?” 

“There's that.” With a last gulp, Bart put the mug inside the sink and leaned on the counter next to Ed. They stayed in silence, it seemed that their nightly meetings were always accompanied by it.

The Argentinian was the first to bite the bullet and break the quiet “What’s got you up so late?” 

Bart just smiled “If you look at it from another perspective, it’s actually early. You know, speedsters are known to have a head start on most things.” He winked at the end for extra measure. 

The other boy just snorted at that and shook his head. He wasn’t necessarily surprised with that answer, deflecting was one of Bart’s greatest talents after all. He took another sip from his now lukewarm tea just as Bart started talking “And you? Why are you awake?” 

Ed just smirked and sat back on top of the counter “Maybe I also like a head start?” He raised an eyebrow and looked at his teammate. Bart moved in front of him, a hair shy from being between Ed’s legs. He grinned and struck a heroic pose “Aahh, taking after me! Good choice for an idol! I knew that yellow in your costume had another meaning!” 

The Argentinian just laughed at that “Of course, who wouldn’t worship an overactive, loud, brash, always stealing other people’s food-“ He was cut off by Bart waving his hands around “Okay! Okay! I got it!”

And just like that all of Ed’s tension was gone, being around Bart was calming. Others would argue the opposite, but for Ed it was different. Their teasing and banter were the best distractions for him. Looking at the speedster, even with the barely-there light they had, he could see the bags under his eyes. Ed hoped that their interactions helped Bart the same way they helped him. 

After a bit, both of them retrieved back to their rooms. The next morning Ed didn’t remember falling asleep. 

**Hollywood**

**April 8, 23:11 PST**

Today couldn’t have gone worse. 

The lead the Outsides had gotten for their mission was an elaborate trap set up by Queen Bee and Onslaught. The criminals had gotten themselves some shiny, new, apocaliptian tech, that they couldn’t wait to test out on the young heroes. The Queen herself wasn’t there, but Onslaught was hers to command, so most likely it was a trap set by the Light just to further exhaust the heroes. They all knew something bigger would be coming soon enough. The Outsiders had defeated the villains, though not without suffering injuries themselves. 

“Ow, ow, ow!” Garfield exclaimed as M’gann continued to disinfect his wounds. She was clearly very displeased with the state of the Outsiders. They were all beaten up pretty badly, nothing serious but bruises and wounds that will definitely hurt for a while. 

Ed was sitting on the couch, he had already gotten his injuries looked at, he hadn’t suffered many, thanks to his teleportation. He was holding his phone in his hand, absentmindedly playing with it. 

“You planning on telling your dad?” Virgil asked, leaning on the sofa behind Ed. 

“Uh, no.” The reply was so certain it was almost sarcastic. 

Static just shrugged “He will find out. It’s all over social media, probably the news soon too.”

“I’d rather avoid telling my dad how I got my ass beat for as long as possible. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle any more lectures any time soon.” Virgil nodded in agreement. 

Ed leaned back against the couch cushions closing his eyes. He already knew he wouldn’t be sleeping good, if at all. He opened his eyes and quickly found Kid Flash poking one of Jaime’s newly formed bruises and being swatted away. Just as he was done laughing, their eyes met. Light brown met green and there was understanding – they both knew they will most likely see each other soon. Probably not tonight, due to the sheer amount of exhaustion that clung to the young heroes, but soon enough – once again under fluorescent lights and a starless sky. 

Ed raised his phone as if saying cheers. 

**Hollywood**

**April 11, 3:26 PST**

Searing pain coursed through his body. He felt like he was in a million places at once. He didn’t know anything other than the suffering he was made to endure. He couldn’t hear, but he could see. All he saw was a blinding light eating him alive. He had always associated bright light with Heaven, maybe he was wrong, there was nothing heavenly about the never-ending agony he was feeling. 

Next thing he saw was the darkness around him. Ed couldn’t focus on anything, but the black that had swept all over him wasn’t bad. It felt comforting. He shut his eyes tightly, but all he saw behind his eyelids was a blinding light. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his beating heart. Getting up from the bed was a challenge, without any care he tore off the sheets that had wrapped themselves around him and proceeded to run his shaking hands through his tangled hair. All he felt was exhaustion, the tears on his face were not only from his nightmares but also irritation. Slowly he went through all the actions he did on such nights – dress up and head someplace else. 

Ed walked over to the couch in the living room of the Hub, as he was getting closer he saw a familiar head of brown hair sitting there. The Argentinian put his hand on top of the armrest and smiled gently “Hey.” Bart turned towards him and also smiled. Ed sat down next to him. The lights were turned off. The Argentinian rested his head against the top of the sofa’s backrest “So what were you doing all alone in the dark?” The light teasing rolling easily off his tongue.

He felt Bart lean more comfortably on the couch “Checking if Jaime’s theory was correct.” Ed moved his head away from the backrest and turned towards Bart, one eyebrow raised “Jaime’s theory?”

The speedster just grinned at him “Yeah, he says places feel different during nighttime, everything is slightly off, like all of the furniture has been moved an inch.” 

Ed extended one of his legs, slightly kicking the coffee table away, even with the limited light coming through the large windows, it was obvious the floor was a slightly different colour compared to the rest. Both of the boys just looked at it, until Bart shrugged and leaned back against the couch. He put his arms behind his head, the image of carefreeness “Well, theory busted.” 

“Indeed.” 

They sat in silence, Ed could see the dust particles floating through the air, thanks to him moving the table. They looked like little stars dancing through space, then ultimately disappearing. They were the only stars one could see around here. Without even realising it, both of the boys had moved closer to each other. The warmth of the solid body next to his comforted Ed. He spared a glance at Bart, who returned it. They were both ignoring how absolutely beat up, exhausted and ultimately pathetic they looked and just leaned closer against each other. 

As Ed continued to look through the window into the fluorescence under them, he felt calm. 

**Author's Note:**

> Virgil said that the Reach tortured him and the other kids in order to awaken their powers, so I took a few liberties with how I think Ed was tormented.
> 
> I thought that since teleportation requires both a starting point and an endpoint, the Reach might have kept him in a sort of halfway point, where he was almost split in two. I imagine that would be quite confusing, both being and not being at the same time. Hopefully, that idea translated well enough in the fanfic. 
> 
> Also, in the beginning, the place/date/time are marked with "???" because Ed doesn't really know where he is, but we soon find out that it's just a dream, so later on the place/date/time are marked "Hollywood/etc./etc./", because physically Ed is there, though not mentally.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this!


End file.
